Would you "T"
 

I was doing and AAU boys High School game. Coach called time out and chewed his team out using profanity and was sooooooooooo loud that easily everyone in the gym could hear him if not in the lobby too. In fact it brought the gym to silence and he continued for about the whole time out (30 sec). I didnt call a "T" neither did my partner but we looked at each other like maybe we should have done something. I never thought of calling a "T" because he was trying to motivate his team but on the other hand I think he was probably out of control. My partner told me later a parent did complain. I did "T" him later in the game for something directed toward us but had nothing to do with this.

In a HS game, if it's as loud as you say, and it's that noticable that everybody heard it, yes. In an AAU game, I'd ask the assigner what he wants.

Would I have T'ed the coach? In a heart beat. AAU Boys' Baseketball is conducted using NFHS rules and that is a technical foul under NFHS rules. If the tournament director or your assignor does not want to support you then you do not need the agravation of officiating their games. AND, yes I have officiated AAU boys' and girls' national championships tournaments.

MTD, Sr.

Nope. It is AAU, that is their business. If the parents do not care, why should I? Even during the HS season I would be reluctant to give a T anyway. A T is not going to solve all problems.

Peace

If it is not directed toward me or my partners I'm not giving a T in HS or AAU. I'm not saying this is right or wrong, it is just not a path I want to go down.

Have you ever heard a coach "talk to their players or staff" when it is obvious it is directed toward you?

Example: Coach says to his players, "Keep blocking out, we will eventually get that call." I've made a mistake of saying something like "Coach, there wasn't a blockout there (or something similar)." Coach immediately says, "I was talking to my players, not you."

Although I know why the comment was made he was not talking to me.

This is a reason I try to live by these guidelines I learned from a vet:
Ignore comments
Answer questions
Penalize insanity

The coach is acting insane in the huddle and that is not my business IMO. If a parent wants to complain and it is a HS game I would direct her to the AD. If it is an AAU game, well, they can probably find another coach they can play for.

If he's on a profanity laced tirade, it's a T. The rules explicitly state that the officials can call a T on a coach who is swearing at his players.
If a coach tries the "I was talking to my players," and the situation warrants, the easy response is, "You don't actually have to talk to me for it to be unsportsmanlike."

A T will solve a surprising number of problems, however.

Well, the high schools (NFHS) have already said that <b>you</b> are wrong.

From a POE from a few years ago--<i>"<b>INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE:</b> The committee is concerned about the use of inappropriate language by players, bench personnel, coaches, officials and spectators. Each group has a responsibility to the game and to each other to demonstrate civility and citizenship. <b>The team huddle is not a safe haven for coaches' bad language.</b> Players are not permitted to "let off steam" by using profanity, even if it is not directed at an opponent or official. Being angry at oneself is no excuse."</i>

And before you script a reply, be aware that the NFHS has already answered your reply in another POE in last year's rulebook--<i><b>"RULES ENFORCEMENT:</b> Officials need to be aware that personal interpretations of the rules have a negative impact on the game. The rules are written to provide a balance between offense and defense,minimize risk to participants, promote the sound tradition of the game and promote fair play. <b>Individual philosophies and deviations from the rules as written negatively impact the basic fundamentals and tenets of the rules</b>."</i>

How do I put this nicely? Hmmmmm.....I guess that I can't. When I read comments like yours above, the first thing that I say to myself is "Yup, another one that's afraid to call the T."

And what would those be?

Peace

Would I call a technical? Yup

The highlighted portions of your post seem incongruous to me. :confused:

The "ignore comments" advice is pretty funny too imo.

Nope as long as he didnt drop the "F" Bomb or was cursing.....he can screem all he wants to his team.:D

Part of the story was "Coach called time out and chewed his team out using profanity".

Darn, I am still sipping on coffee......eyes stiff foggy. If he dropped the F bomb, I would stick him. But, if the curse words were like the common ones used, I would talk to him about his choise of words. Thanks for that Scrapper1!

What makes some profanity OK but other profanity wrong?:confused:

I can tell from here!! LOL. :)

Unsportsmanlike behavior is unacceptable. This happened to me once, and I have always regreted not awarding a "T"
A wise old man once instructed me, "Victory without honor is no victory." His name was Hashim Kahn.

player takes a shot and misses and at the top of his lungs yells "F__k"

clearly its not aimed at the official, and I will be hard pressed to find anyone here that would not T this up.

so why when the coach is dropping bombs that poor 90 year old Mary who came to watch her great grandson play ball and is hard of hearing can hear him would you not want to punish him. Besides from personal experience a coach who acts like this wont treat you with much respect either.

JRut -- the T will accomplish one thing, and it only really needs to accomplish one thing, and that is let the coach know that behavior is unacceptable in your game. Wheter he does it again is out of your control.

Other than the OP, no one else has mentioned if this has happened to them during a game. It hasn't happened to me. One may think they may react in a situation like this but until the time comes no one really knows.

Example: Team A up by 10 with about two minutes left in the game. They lose the big lead on a press by Team B and now there is 10 seconds left in the game. Game is tied (or within a point or two either way) and Team A's coach calls TO and goes off in one of the tirades described in this thread toward his team.

If you really are going to call it when a team is down 20 you better call it now. It is possible that some of you may very well do so (and, yes, I know what the rules say)...but I would believe you are a minority.

I agree there is no room in the game for it. I'm a varsity coach in a different sport and it isn't tolerated from me or my players. However, a coach may very well be using that language in the huddle in a nine inch voice where you can't hear it and that is just as bad.

Anyway, if anyone has called it, please speak up and tell us how things transpired afterwards.

Here the problem I have with your position. The OP did not use any particular word or words as an example. Profanity is very often subjective. There are certain words that would be considered profane in one circle and in others would be considered acceptable. Now if the NF wants to pick out certain words then I will have a bigger leg to stand on. But let us not act like we penalize every bad word we hear. I very rarely ever worked a game where an official other than me penalized a kid or coach the very first time they heard a profane word. I would do like I usually do give them a chance to know what is acceptable then give a T if necessary. To me going in a huddle to give a T based on what is said within a team huddle is looking for trouble. You can quote all the NF positions and say why we should follow the NF interpretation as you read it, but I do not work for the NF. I work for the assignors that give me games. I am not going to go into a he said, he said type of situation to enforce a rule that is vague at best.

Just like always I am telling you what I am going to do. What you do is up to you. I just have almost never heard clearly anything said in a team huddle if I am standing on the block or talking with my partners.

Peace

An unsporting act is an unsporting act -- cursing for the world to hear it is such -- the game situation has no bearing on the validity or lack of sportsmanship being shown.

If no one can hear it then we dont have a problem.

the deal is not how the coach deals with his players -- thats the players and parents problem -- its the image and the respect of the actual game that is on the line. You have families in the stands that, I am sure, did not go to watch this game to be subjected to questionable language. Profanity IS questionable. If I am the only one that hears this and I am a fair distance away I will not T up the coach, but I will mention to him to be aware of where he is and to act with some professionalism.

I have had an almost similar situation where a coach was just a fiery person and was berating his team like I have never seen before. The whole gym could hear him. It was varsity type level girls AAU and the teams in this tournament are all big and talented. This coach I did not recognize as I have worked this tourney for several years. The fans were in shock and so was I. However he didnt really curse -- but he was very negative to his players. Once the timeout was over I made my way to him and just reminded him that sound carries and for him to be aware of what came out of his mouth.

If he had another tirade like that I would not have T'd him up as he didnt use any profanity -- however had he -- I might have been inclined to run him for a flagrant as I can only imagine what string of words he might have put together. however he toned down after that and there was no issue.

I' don't remeber word for word what he said but it went something like this. You guys are playing like sh*t....If you dont feel like playing pack your sh*t and take your asses home. He went on for a while longer mostly using the "sh" word but no "F" bombs for sure. This guy was big with a big voice to go with it and as I mentioned was sooooooooooo loud you had to be 100% deaf not to hear it in the gym.
Someone mentioned I was another guy affaid to give a "T" but let me tell you I gave a "T" to that guy later that I'm proud of. I was trail and there was some contact down below with his team in possesion. No call and the other team taking over on a fast break the other way. He chased me down the floor yelling at me with that big loud voice "you blew the call" "you blew the call" I held my whistel until the other team finished the fast break in which they made a layup and I got a foul on his team also and I really enjoyed calling the foul, bucket good and then a Tech. on the coach. Coach saids, Oh now you call the Tech? yeah coach, had to let the play finish first. So I dont like hearing that BS another one affaid to call a "T". It was a situation that doesnt happen that often as I can see from the replies only one said it happen to him so before you start point fingers at whos affaid to call a "T" try to put yourself in the situation before you reply with that type of comment. I like to hear what other officials (with a lot more experience) have to say and learn from it. Thats why I like this forum.

I also love how people want to point out rule 10-4-1c or 10-3-7b but forget to worry about 10-4-1b, which happens about every time we make a call or we have a situation that a coach does not like. But we must at all costs T up every coach if we hear profanity in a huddle which we are not being addressed or talked to. Well, in this day and age if a coach is using profanity, they tend to tell on the coach. They tend to get coaches in trouble for behavior that is not easily heard by anyone.

There was a coach in my area that put on a bulletin board in the locker room a sign that said, "Hard work will set you free." Now to the average person this might not in any way be offensive, but the school this took place was a largely Jewish community. I guess the Nazis put signs up like this in the concentration camps in the 30s and 40s and this has a very offensive reaction from those in the Jewish community. As an African-American I have no idea this was something seen as a problem, but the coach was suspended for a game and was put in some other kind of trouble with the school he worked for. Remember, the rule we are discussing also talks about inappropriate language and this from my background would not even raise an eyebrow because I had no knowledge of the context of such comments. So how far are we going to take what we hear in the huddle? I agree that is should be addressed, but giving a T for a first time offense is a stretch in my mind.

Peace

I didnt say profanity was okay. Just the F bomb would get my attention!!!:D

This is a tough issue. Part of the problem is that you have people (including myself) that will not enforce the rule as written, and then people that enforce the rule to the letter of the law. Consistency is lost.

In my mind, every coach gets one tirade. Someone on our crew then lets him know that we can't allow that to happen again. If he does it again, T. But that's only if we're not coming down the stretch in a close game. :) In that case, it goes uncalled again, and again, and again. Just being truthful here.

I think one of the biggest problem is we are too concerned with consistency from one night to another. It is easy for the NBA as an example to have all the consistency when they only have 50 or so officials to work with (I do not know the actual staff number so do not sue me). When you are dealing with thousands like in my state, all I can do is do what I feel is right. Coaches know that some officials are going to have a stick up their behind about certain rules and other officials will just turn the other cheek. We worry too much about what some guy you have never met did as opposed to just doing what your training and your experience has told you to do.

Peace

Had it happen and didn't know what to do. I will be honest. I walked over to talk to partners to try and pretend I didn't hear it.

What I did was I went and talked to the coach after the timeout and explained to him that this was unacceptable. If he did it again it would be a Technical. He understood and appreciated me letting him know it was wrong. If you just blast the coach while he's already irrate and talking to his players, you might need security afterwards. I would suggest giving the coach a warning and letting him know you can hear him before enforcing the T and potentially taking the game from him. In a crowded gym with a lot of fans you can't hear it and it's not a problem, but when there's only a few fans, you can hear everything. Including the fans who can be far worst and direct there insults right at you.

AAU address this as unacceptable in there rules long time ago.

I'd have T'd him up. His behavior deserved it so he bought it. We'd whack a player for this in a heartbeat so why not the coach? Isn't he supposed to be setting an example... a better one than he was?

So you whack a player anytime they use a curse word under their breathe or not directed at anyone no matter what the situation or the loudness? What about if a player dislocates their knee (this actually happen in a game last year)? Now I would bet you do not do that every single time it happens.

I agree the coach is setting an example, but it is not my job to put my foot down on all behavior a coach displays. We are only seeing these coaches and players for a very short period of time. The parents and the administration see a lot more of what goes on than I do.

Peace

Put me in the calling-a-T column.

Surely you jest (and yes, I called you Shirley). You mean that if a coach stands there and screams obscenities at you at the top of his lungs, you'd give him only a warning if this is the first time he does it? And then you'd let him do it again and again without a T if the game is close at the end???!!!! :eek:

Either I'm reading your post incorrectly or else you are joking - I hope! At first, I thought you were joking when I saw the smiley face, but then you ended your post with a statement that you were being truthful, which (I think) negates the smiley.

____________________________________

1. We're not talking about a player cussing under his breath or when he dislocates his knee. We're talking about a coach who is on a tirade who is using inapproriate language loud enough to be heard all over the gymn and in the lobby.

2. Agreed, we don't put our foot down on all behavior a coach displays... but we are supposed to put our foot down on improper behavior. That's part of what we are getting paid to do and to ignore such an obvious tirade makes us look unwilling to address difficult situations and unprofessional.

The rules do not put all these caveats on how the rule should be applied. Even in your defense of your position you are qualifying your position. May only point is to say that even if no one hears it but you, then you have to penalize based on how you take this position.

I am not saying I am right, but if we are really worried about an example we are setting, why does it matter who else hears the words? What if you are standing right next to the huddle let us say after the first horn is blown and you hear the coach use two or three choice words and you are the only person outside of the huddle that hears it? I would think most (not necessarily you) would pass and at the most say something to the coach.

Ultimately we put all kinds of caveats on when and how we apply rules like this. Really that is the point that I want to make.

Peace

You are correct. Your job is only to put your foot down on unacceptable behavior a coach displays. Surely you're not suggesting you'd give a coach a pass on unacceptable behavior just because you're only going to be there for 90 minutes?

First of all you are taking those comments out of context. All unacceptable behavior by a coach is not going to be in your view. Coaches have contact with players in the locker room, on the bus, even in the huddle where you will not know what is going on. Those are the things schools need to deal with. I live in a community that is so conservative if a coach even used a word that was not a curse word, the kids would tell on them.

I just thing this is like the political question that everyone agrees with like, "Do you support funding for children's education?" Then when you get behind closed doors or you start talking about the details, then the opinions change drastically. If the rule is the rule, then it should not matter how loud the comments are. But my point is that we do put all those qualifiers on this and many issues. There were even people that said, "But if it is heard all over the gym....."

Peace

Tirade to his own team. I thought that's what we've been talking about, but I should have been more clear.

JRut you just justified one of the silliest positions ever. What you said is tantamount to classifying a murderer, who commits a crime with no witnesses, as one only if he gets caught. However would the authorities say, "well he was going to get away with it anyway so I guess there is no need to punish him?"

You cannot punish what you cannot hear or see -- you are just justifying the coaches behavior as acceptable because under normal circumstances no one else is around to witness it.

You need to go back are read what I said. This is not about murder or any other crime. Those are things that have a greater society issue. But it is hard to arrest someone without any evidence.

I said you should punish with the same zeal if you want to be consistent whether everyone hears it or if no one but you hears it if your position is you are trying to set and example and punish unacceptable behavior. And it is not our job to be the moral policy for all behavior of the coach. If a coach is using acceptable language, someone will likely notice and tell on him or her.

The bottom line, it should not matter if anyone else but you the official hears it, you should have the balls to make the call and stand by the rulebook if this is so important. Otherwise, just say you are selective as anyone else on how you apply this rule and others with is more realistic to begin with.

Peace

I understand what Rut is saying and I agree with some of it (no need to reference point by point for either agreement or refutation), but I think you can't compare a player going down to injury and using several expletives to a coach who's berating his team in a loud enough voice for me (much less anyone else) to hear. The former isn't unsportsmanlike and the latter is, and the SPIRIT AND INTENT of the rule in this situation is to penalize unsporting behavior. When a player is injured, just about all bets are off. We aren't going to penalize a coach or trainer who bolts off the bench at the first sign of a SERIOUS injury (been there a few times too many) even before beckoned, but we would in virtually every other case.

Getting back to the situation at hand: cussing in the huddle. I go over there and remind the coach what we are here for (i.e. "coach, remember, we are here to be good sports and set examples") and/or to ask him to lower his voice. At that point and time, its an easy T if the request(s) are not complied with.

There is your answer gentlemen. Very well stated I might add. Give the coach a change to correct it himself. He may not know that he is that out of line. Remember, if the gym is crowded with a lot of fans, you can't hear him anyway. This past weekend, I saw a coach (female) hit a player after a timeout. It was not aggressive or over the top, but none the less borders on being inappropriate. Our jobs of being officials must take into account everyone well being, including the coaches. The coaches can be your friends if you give them the chance. If you remove that chance, they can be your worse enemy.

Typical rec league thinking. Ignore.

There's a difference between working a game to "make friends" and working a game to "gain respect". Given the choice, I'll take the latter every time.

BTW - if I saw a coach hit a player, in anything other than a teasing, playful way (like a "mock" tap just to be funny), that coach is gone, a report will be filed and I would be available to testify in court in a child abuse case.

Off topic - my wife and I raised three wonderful kids who are now grown and have families of their own. Not once in their entire lifetimes did I ever raise a hand to them and hit/spank them. I told them they can pay me back by treating their kids the same way. So far, with all seven grandkids, it's working great.

Let's not go down the wrong path here. Instead of saying friends, I should have said ally. Coaches can be a great ally to the successful job you're trying to do on the court.

Unfortunately, I have seen the worse in this game. I have seen coaches grab kids and kids crying, and coaches blaming kids for losing games. It is a mess out here people and it's happening at such a young age. A sad state of affairs. I am on the border of snapping myself. If a see one more kid be abused just to play a game of bb, you might be reading about me on the news. The lady that slapped the kid was not in any way bad, as I indicated. However, it was a packed gym and I'm sure parents saw it. Parents that want Johnnie to be the next Oden or Durant are willing to accept certain unpleasant reality's.

Rec league thinking. Ignore.

You never make any call in any game while worrying about whatinthehell a coach might think of that call. If you want a friend or an ally, go see Dr. Phil. Coaches aren't neutral; they care who wins and they want all the close calls to go their way. There's nothing the matter with either, unless you delude yourself into thinking that you can be a friend or an ally of one of the coaches while also officiating a fair, balanced and even game.

Officials who worry about what coaches think will remain in their rec leagues forever. That's where they belong too.

Coaches control the players, players control the game. Referees manage the game. If you have a game that has gone bad, coaches can be a great ally by removing bad players, by keeping there team in control, by controlling there fans. It is complete asinine thinking to ignore the coaches or not try to utilize there help.

In any contest, if the coaches are on my side. I have a better chance of being successful which is why I make it a point to talk to both coaches before the game. It doesn't matter if it's rec league or professional, coaches can be an ally and a great asset to a well officiated game. They can also destroy a game and your career as well.

Typical rec league thinking. Ignore.

Coaches have absolutely nothing to do with a well officiated game. Coaches aren't making the calls; we are. Yes, coaches sureashell can also destroy a game though. And yes, sometimes there's absolutely nothing that we can do as officials either to stop coaches from screwing up a game. Sh!t happens. That little fact has got absolutely <b>nothing</b> to do with how that game is being officiated however. Do your job. Officiate the game and don't worry about the damn coaches. If you're looking for approval, you're in the wrong racket. The only "allies" that you'll ever gonna be able to count on during a game are your partners. That's because you and your partners are also the <b>only</b> ones in the gym who don't care who wins.

Note: that's my opinion for others that might be reading. I don't expect Cappy/JMO to agree with or even understand what I'm saying.

JR, we do not referee on an island. As you are teaching young men and women about being an official. Be cautious of your rhetoric. You can not pursue this profession and ignore the people around it and within it. Coaches are a very big part of this game, hence, they do get paid more then we do. Agree or not, it is a fact. Another fact, this is a people business. This is not an individual, I don't care what nobody thinks business. The minute you walk into a game and you don't care about what a coach thinks, you are done moving up.

I don't referee for approval but in order to get put on a game, much less a game that I would really like to work. Somebody has to approve me. That approval might just come from my ability to communicate.

i hate to say it but to some degree i agree with OS here -- JR you sometimes talk to much in a vacuum and the reality is, like OS said, we are all a part of the same game. there should be a greater effort on all sides to work better together.

Feel free to ignore completely what I'm saying. Shrug.

Again, you don't have a clue either as to what I've been saying. That's completely to be expected. Officials will understand it though.

There's a big difference between getting along with a coach and sucking around a coach. You don't seem to understand that. That's not surprising.

I would not go that far. JR sometimes does talk in a bit of a vacuum, but that does not mean "Cappy" is right either. "Cappy" likes to also act as if we are somehow obligated to make the coach happy. We are apart of the same game but we do not have the same role. And when we start cow towing to a coach, we are going to lose our purpose as officials

As a matter of fact remember most assignors are fellow officials. The camp I was at an assignor said the minute he gets a recommendation from a coach, you are done. In his opinion coaches cannot be trusted because they often have agendas.

Also I have almost always been supported by an assignor when I am doing my job. Coaches complain that is what they do. I agree that coaches have some influence, but they certainly do not play such a role that I have to do my job based on who they are.

Peace

whos cappy?

Old School. :D

Peace

No, I think it is you who don't have a clue.

Who said anything about sucking up to a coach. I challenge you to show me where I stated this. I said communicating with a coach. Communicating doesn't have to mean sucking up. Perhaps the biggest thing to learn as a veteran official is the art of communication. Sometimes you might have to lower that hammer and be the sheriff, and when that time comes you have better make that switch quick or you will be in trouble.

On the other hand, you can not walk around half-cocked like JR everytime you take the floor either. You will end up like Joey Crawford who now has a permanent bad mark on his record. There is a balance that we have to stride for in communications. More can never hurt you but being too hard nose can and will.

I have no clue what you are talking about JRUT. I can not imagine an assigner tossing a referee out because a coach recommended him. That is extreme and I don't think we can get very many assigners to come out here and admit to that.

I'll agree to that. However, if I can hear it, it's not in the huddle anymore.

That's hardly surprising, Cappy. You still don't have a clue as to what I was talking about either.

When you do not have an understanding of the concept of officiating, it is not surprising you would not understand why an assignor would be very skeptical of who a coach recommends and the reasons behind that recommendation.

Peace

So you're saying a coach can't make an unbias decision that he/she feels a referee is good and deserving. Geece JRUT, I'm disappointed. Who the hell do you think votes a referee into the hall of fame? I was not born yesterday.

LOL!!!!! This has to be the winner.
 

I am not saying anything other than repeating comments from a Division 1 Assignor. I was sharing you what someone who is hired by a conference what he thinks of coaches and their opinions about officials. I have been to many college camps and I have yet to see any coaches as evaluators of the officials to decide who gets hired. Now coaches my have an opinion, but it is weighed up against the rules, mechanics and procedures set by the conference, NCAA or the assignor.

The Hall of Fame? You honestly talked about the Hall of Fame? I guess............................................. ..no I will stop while I am ahead.

Peace

It's always been the ticket-taker who has let me in.

Yeah, Cappy, please do tell us who votes a referee into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

According to the website, the Honors Committee that does the selecting is generally made up out of Hall of Fame members, basketball executives, media members and other contributors. Coaches aren't even mentioned.

www.hoophall.com/ot/bhof-enshrinement.html

Maybe you weren't born yesterday, but you sureashell don't have a clue as to what happened yesterday. Or today. Or tomorrow. Or......

Coaches are biased towards their team. Period.

You and your DI assigner friend must be deranged because coaches do evaluate officials, especially at the DI level and will be the first ones to speak up if they feel an official is not capable. You don't think that coaches make recommendation huh? Well that proves to me that you are only concerned with one side of the profession. That's okay, if it works for you, but you are missing out on another side of the coin that could be beneficial to you and your career. I prefer to keep all my options open.

And before I leave, let me just say that you are not the only one that knows DI officials. Several years ago I had a DI clinician tell me she got picked up when the coach recommended her because of how hard she worked this meaningless game. So you see, there are many ways to get picked up. I guess it depends on the conference and how hard you're willing to work for it.

RIF.

Again, you're missing completely what Jeff is trying to tell you. Yes, coaches evaluate officials. No, that sureashell doesn't mean that those evaluations actually mean a damn thing to assignors. Assignors are paid by leagues for their expertise.

You keep yapping without understanding what you're being told.

Silly monkey.....

what a tease you are

Coaches might give an evaluation that does not mean the evaluations hold much water outside of simple information. For your information every D1 game very likely has an evaluator at each site anyway. Every game D1 officials have someone telling them what they are doing and reviewing the tape. And every game is likely evaluated on tape by someone. The coaches might fill out a form, but the assignor can use it how they see fit. In other words, if the coach is wrong, then just like anything they are told how well the officials did and that their complaints are not valid.

Also if you could read you would see I did not say I knew the supervisor. I never met the supervisor before the camp I attended. This was not someone that just worked D1 but they now assigned for a D1 conference. And this person's resume is a lot bigger than you and I and everyone here combined. Also this was a Women's D1 official. What happens in Women's college basketball is a lot different than Men's college basketball. There are assignors on the Women's side that have 10 conferences under them. On the Men's side there is only one person that assigns 4 conferences and that person I can assure you are not going to be hired you based on what some coach says. If you do not attend his camp or work other D1 conferences, you can forget every getting hired. Even an evaluation of another D1 official is very unlikely you will get hired. Even on the Women's side they are not hiring based solely on a recommendation from anyone. They want to see you in a camp setting, see if you can handle the pressure and the environment then if you are good enough you might get hired to work some games. You also better have a decent resume or background to get hired as well. Cappy, I am not talking about one D1 friend, I literally know several D1 officials personally that either I have worked with during the HS and college seasons. Not that means I will ever get hired at that level. It just means when you know these guys they talk about what they deal with and how they were hired. I have never, ever, ever heard them say someone was fired because a coach gave an evaluation. Now a coach might point out something like a missed rule or certain kind of behavior by the official, but the supervisor has the final say about who works and who does not work.

Oh forget it; I know who I am talking to.

Peace

Since you are so sure of yourself, please share for the reading audiance what the assigners do when the coach is right?

My point in all this is not to show off my credentials or who I know but to get the majority to realize and understand that this is a full blown business. There are good people on both sides of the aisle. Enjoy yourself and everyone you get to meet in this basketball business as your time on the court is not promised.

I think sports in our soceity is ruining the society. Too much is put on winning and not enough on enjoying the journey. We have to think about the type of person we are turning out. Win at all cost, take no prisoners attitude. Iimagine if you will, what it must be like for a man of this size to run between the tackles, and dodge linebackers twice his size and strength, and is ultimately responsible to win the game. We want to act surpise when this same man raises pit-bulls to fight. This guy is in a dog fight everytime he steps on the field.

We do not have to be in a dog fight everytime we take the court or speak to each other on a internet forum. I'm hear to tell you there are more people who don't get a chance then there are people who do. You may not get to be a D1 official, you may not even know any DI officials, but you do not have to sell your sole to the devil to be happy or to get picked up. All that is a bunch of hype to keep you coming back, all the while, the deck is stacked. That's right, they already know who they are going to hire this year before the camp even starts.

Huh??

Peace